<\/p>\n
\u201cA friend is one who warns you\u201d (Arabian Proverb).<\/p>\n
TO \u201cADMONISH\u201d IS TO REPROVE SOMEONE MILDLY OR KINDLY BUT SERIOUSLY. If a friend admonishes you, that means they caution you about your behavior or counsel you against a dangerous course of action. Because it has a distinctly \u201cdisciplinary\u201d ring, admonition may not seem like a positive practice \u2014 I doubt many would call it an \u201centhusiastic idea.\u201d However, it\u2019s a better thing than most people suppose. Since success in this life often comes down to whether we\u2019re willing to be warned, being open to admonition is a part of the good life. And as far as our friends are concerned, a faithful friend will admonish us when we need it \u2014 in serious cases, even risking the relationship in order to say what we need to hear.<\/p>\n
Receiving admonition is certainly not pleasant, and if we judge things solely by whether they make us feel good emotionally, admonition won\u2019t be something we tolerate. But the momentary pain of having it pointed out that we\u2019re headed down the wrong road is worth accepting, simply because it helps us avoid a much greater, and perhaps disastrous, pain later on. As Shakespeare put it, \u201cBetter a little chiding than a great deal of heartbreak.\u201d<\/p>\n
We need to work on two things: receiving<\/em> admonition in the proper spirit and giving<\/em> admonition in the right way. When we\u2019re being warned, we need to hear the admonition with openness, humility, courage, and an eagerness to act on whatever truth we\u2019re hearing. And when we\u2019re the one issuing the warning, we need to do so wisely. It takes good judgment, honest love, and considerable skill to find the balance between courage and kindness, but without that balance, admonitions often do more harm than good.<\/p>\n Whether or not we have friends who\u2019ll admonish us, we all have a conscience, and that\u2019s precisely what our conscience is supposed to do. We need to ensure that our conscience is well-educated and that its warnings are based on truth and reality. But more than that, we need to listen<\/em> to our conscience. If we don\u2019t, the time will come when it will give up. It will stop trying to get our attention and eventually abandon us. Let\u2019s make sure that doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n \u201cIf conscience smite thee once, it is an admonition; if twice, it is a condemnation\u201d (Nathaniel Hawthorne).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n